1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement for making, proportioning, discharging and storing small clear ice bodies. The arrangement includes at least one freezer unit for continuously producing small ice bodies from water; an insulated housing for the intermediate storage of the small ice bodies which further includes means for revolving the small ice bodies and for conveying the small ice bodies to an outlet opening in the bottom of the housing; and a unit for proportioning and filling the small ice bodies into bags and an insulated housing for storing the filled bags.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of arrangements for manufacturing small clear ice bodies by freezing water are known. Commercially available machines can produce up to 1000 kg of small ice bodies per day.
For handling the small ice bodies in an hygienic as well as economic manner, so-called dispensers have been developed in which the small ice bodies are stored and dispensed in controllable amounts as required. These dispensers include essentially an insulated housing into which the prepared small ice bodies are dropped from the top and in which they are revolved by means of a device, frequently in the form of a pipe screw, in order to prevent the small ice bodies from freezing together and from which they are discharged, for example, through a discharge opening in the bottom. Such arrangements are known from German Offenlegungsschrift 24 54 348 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,084,725; 4,512,502; 3,543,811; 4,404,817 and 4,771,609.
An arrangement of the above-described type is commercially available. The arrangement includes essentially a thermally insulated, cylindrical fiberglass silo with a cover, wherein one or two small ice body makers are positioned on the cover. The center of the bottom of the silo has an outlet opening under which a conveyor screw begins. In the silo there is provided a screw which rotates about the center axis of the silo and which loosens the supply of small ice bodies and conveys them to the outlet opening.
In supermarkets, airports, fish processing plants, catering companies and the like, the small ice bodies are produced centrally in large quantities and are transported packed in plastic bags to the locations of the users. In order to prevent the small ice bodies from melting in the bags, the bags are stored in separate freezer rooms at temperatures below the freezing points. The transport to the user locations takes place in vehicles or containers which have their own cooling systems. At the user locations, another intermediate storage may take place in special freezer rooms or containers.
It is apparent that it is very cumbersome and time-consuming to make available freezer rooms or containers for the intermediate storage of the bags filled with small ice bodies and to transport the bags which have been filled at a central location with small ice bodies in the transport units which have their own cooling systems to the locations of the users.